"Haha, haha, this is so much fun! Auntie, these tadpoles are so much fun!" Hongzhou laughed, holding a tadpole that had already grown two thin little legs in his hand.
“Yes, these things grow up to become frogs in the fields. Have you ever eaten frogs?” Fucha asked affectionately, squatting down beside Hongzhou. Only the two of them were by the small pond; Chunying had been sent by Hongqiao to catch crickets for Hongzhou.
"I've never eaten it before. Mother never let me eat it. Is it good?" Hongzhou felt that the world outside the small courtyard was so novel, and he couldn't suppress his urge to escape and play.
“It’s delicious. How about I wait for you here again tomorrow and bring you some cooked frogs?” said Madam Fucha. She glanced up and saw Chunying and Hongqiao walking towards her, each holding a cricket in their hand.
"But you'd better come without your mother's knowledge, otherwise she probably won't let you eat," said Lady Fucha. "Your aunt doesn't want you to get scolded by your mother!"
“Yes, I come to the peach grove to practice archery every day. Mother will have Chunying take me here to play for a while. Let’s meet here again tomorrow,” Hongzhou said without any suspicion.
"Alright, then your aunt will be here waiting for you tomorrow!" Fucha smiled and pinched Hongzhou's little face.
Chunying held a cricket in her hand and handed it to Hongzhou before saying, "Fifth Prince, we have to go back now, or the Princess will get worried."
"Fifth Prince, hurry back, or your mother will really worry," said Lady Fucha.
Once Chunying and Hongzhou had walked away, the warm smile on Fucha's face vanished in an instant.
“Princess, this Fifth Prince is quite adorable,” Hongqiao said.
"Yes, if only he weren't Niohuru's son," Fucha said coldly, a stark contrast to her earlier warm and friendly demeanor.
"Princess, are you planning to use the Fifth Prince to sow discord between the Geng family and the Niohuru family?" Hongqiao asked.
“I don’t need to do anything; they’ll turn against each other sooner or later. Madam Geng will never give up such a lovely son,” said Madam Fucha.
“What you say is true, Princess. All we need to do is fan the flames and light a fire inside,” Hongqiao said.
Meanwhile, Chunying led Hongzhou to the Geng family's place, where they happened to run into Geng's wife, Lülan, and another woman who had come looking for them in the peach grove.
"Chunying, where did you take the Fifth Prince? You've worried the princess to death!" Seeing Chunying's anxious expression, Lülan asked first.
"This servant deserves to die! The Fifth Prince just said he wanted to catch crickets, so I took him with me. Please punish me, Your Highness!" Chunying lied. It turned out that Hongqiao had already told her not to tell anyone about Fucha's appearance, otherwise she would tell Gengshi about how she took Hongzhou to raid bird nests and almost made him fall.
Hongzhou was also afraid of being punished by Gengshi, so he kept his mouth shut and didn't say anything.
"Alright, alright, let's go back. Next time, don't go so far." Madam Geng quickly pulled Hongzhou over and said.
However, to Geng's surprise, Hongzhou took advantage of breaks from archery practice to meet with Fucha at the pond for the next few days. He made various excuses to prevent Geng from following him.
Gradually, Hongzhou and Fucha became more and more familiar with each other. In order to win Hongzhou's favor, Fucha tried her best to tell him some novel things and bring him some novel gadgets. Hongzhou, who had been confined to his courtyard by Gengshi for almost three years, was as if he had seen a new world. And because Gengshi did not allow him to have much contact with Hongli, he became more and more eager to know what was happening outside the courtyard.
Seeing that Hongzhou had no chance to move around outside the courtyard, Geng didn't really restrict his only free time after archery practice. She only told him not to run around and let Chunying follow him.
On this day, Hongzhou dragged Chunying to the place they had agreed to meet with Fucha. Hongqiao used various tricks to coax Chunying into going with Hongzhou, keeping it a secret from Gengshi.
"Auntie!" Hongzhou ran to the place where he often met with Lady Fucha and saw Hongqiao standing there alone. He called out to her subconsciously.
"This servant greets the Fifth Prince!" Hongqiao turned around and bowed to Hongzhou as soon as she saw him arrive. "The Princess has caught a cold and specially sent this servant to inform the Fifth Prince."
"Is Madam sick? Is it serious?" Hongzhou hadn't expected Madam Fucha to be ill, and he quickly asked.
"I'm not feeling well. Princess said she can't come and talk to the Fifth Prince," Hongqiao said with a hint of worry.
"Then, can I go see Auntie?" Hongzhou's little heart began to worry when he heard that Fucha was not even allowed to leave the house.
“I’m afraid that won’t work. Your mother would be very upset if she found out. It’s better not to go. Our princess said that once he’s recovered, she’ll find some nice things for the Fifth Prince to play with,” Hongqiao said.
Hearing this, Chunying breathed a sigh of relief. She was really afraid that Hongzhou would insist on going to see Lady Fucha, which would definitely anger Lady Geng. After spending these days with Lady Fucha, Hongzhou had come to enjoy learning things from her. Moreover, Lady Fucha was not as strict as Lady Geng, and she deliberately tried to please Hongzhou, thus making him unable to live without her.
Children naturally gravitate towards those who treat them well. Madam Geng was also very good to Hongzhou, but this kindness was tinged with domineering and possessiveness. For example, she wouldn't allow Hongzhou to get close to Hongli, nor would she let him leave the courtyard to play. This suffocating love made three-year-old Hongzhou feel a little oppressed and uncomfortable.
Hongzhou listlessly followed Chunying back, but he was worried about Fucha's illness. Several days passed and he did not see Fucha again.
When Madam Geng noticed Hongzhou's change in mood, she called Chunying to her room to ask. Chunying, of course, dared not tell her that Hongzhou had been playing with Fucha for quite some time, and only lied, saying that Hongzhou couldn't play with Hongli, which was why he was in a bad mood. After hearing this, Madam Geng kept a closer eye on Hongzhou, and even began to feign illness to prevent him from going to school.
"Mother, I want to go to the primary school!" Hongzhou finally refused to listen to Gengshi and shouted loudly at her. Because Hongzhou was bored being cooped up in the courtyard every day, going to the primary school every day to talk to Hongli and the others was his favorite thing.
Madam Geng looked at Hongzhou in disbelief. Hongzhou, who used to be so obedient and sensible in front of her, was actually speaking to her like this.
Hongzhou clenched his fists, glaring angrily at Geng Shi. He couldn't understand why Geng Shi couldn't talk to other people's mothers, or why she kept him so tightly under wraps. He felt like he was suffocating.
"Hongzhou, how dare you speak to your mother like that!" Geng said in shock, but the fear in her eyes revealed her true colors.
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